Kitchen Manager Jobs in Encinitas, CA (NOW HIRING)

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Kitchen Manager

El Viejon Sports Bar — San Diego, CA
Position Type: Full-Time
Schedule: Nights, weekends, holidays, and high-volume sports/event days required
Reports To: General Manager / Ownership
Compensation: $23 - 27 per hour or $68k annually, based on experience

El Viejon is a high-energy Mexican sports bar and restaurant serving bold flavors, seafood, tacos, shareable appetizers, cocktails, and a lively guest experience. We are looking for a hands-on Kitchen Manager who can lead the back-of-house team, maintain consistent food quality, control costs, and keep the kitchen organized during both regular service and high-volume events.

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for the daily operation of the kitchen, including food quality, recipe execution, food safety, staffing, scheduling, inventory, ordering, labor control, and cleanliness.

This is a working management position. The Kitchen Manager must be present on the floor, support the cooks during busy periods, identify problems before they affect service, and hold the kitchen team accountable to El Viejon’s standards.

• Lead all daily back-of-house operations.
• Complete opening, shift-change, and closing kitchen inspections.
• Check the hot line, fryer station, grill, prep areas, walk-ins, freezer, and cold table before each service.
• Make sure every station is fully stocked and ready before opening.
• Maintain proper prep levels based on sales, reservations, sporting events, promotions, and expected business.
• Monitor ticket times and organize the kitchen during high-volume service.
• Work alongside the team when additional support is needed.
• Communicate shortages, equipment issues, and operational concerns immediately.

• Ensure every dish follows the approved recipe, portion, presentation, and plating standard.
• Taste sauces, salsas, proteins, soups, rice, beans, garnishes, and prepared ingredients before service.
• Inspect the temperature, appearance, freshness, and flavor of all food.
• Prevent unauthorized recipe changes, substitutions, or oversized portions.
• Train cooks using recipe cards, photos, portioning tools, and station guides.
• Correct quality problems before food reaches the guest.

• Maintain compliance with all health department and food safety requirements.
• Ensure temperature logs, cooling logs, sanitation records, and cleaning checklists are completed accurately.
• Monitor proper food labeling, dating, storage, rotation, cooling, reheating, and thawing.
• Enforce FIFO procedures throughout the kitchen.
• Make sure raw proteins, ready-to-eat foods, chemicals, and allergens are stored correctly.
• Maintain clean floors, walls, drains, equipment, storage areas, walk-ins, and workstations.
• Prepare the kitchen for health inspections at all times.
• Ensure employees follow handwashing, glove-use, uniform, and personal hygiene standards.

• Complete weekly food inventory accurately and on time.
• Place orders based on approved pars, sales forecasts, and current inventory.
• Inspect deliveries for quality, quantity, temperature, and invoice accuracy.
• Control food cost through proper purchasing, portioning, production, storage, and waste management.
• Record waste, spoilage, overproduction, mistakes, and employee meals.
• Investigate food-cost variances and recommend corrective actions.
• Reduce unnecessary overtime and manage kitchen labor according to sales.
• Protect restaurant products, smallwares, equipment, and supplies.

• Hire, train, coach, schedule, and supervise cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, and other back-of-house employees.
• Create clear station assignments and daily production priorities.
• Conduct pre-shift meetings and communicate specials, unavailable items, large parties, and expected business.
• Hold team members accountable for attendance, performance, cleanliness, teamwork, and recipe compliance.
• Provide respectful coaching and document repeated performance issues.
• Build a professional kitchen culture based on urgency, organization, communication, and mutual respect.
• Cross-train employees so the kitchen can operate effectively during call-outs or busy periods.

• Prepare the kitchen schedule according to projected sales and operational needs.
• Monitor clock-in and clock-out times, breaks, overtime, and attendance.
• Adjust staffing when sales are higher or lower than forecasted.
• Ensure legal meal and rest breaks are properly provided and recorded.
• Find appropriate coverage for call-outs without leaving the kitchen understaffed.

• Communicate with the General Manager, bartenders, servers, and expo team throughout service.
• Notify front-of-house leadership immediately about sold-out items, long ticket times, substitutions, or quality concerns.
• Review guest complaints involving food and take immediate corrective action.
• Coordinate large parties, promotions, special events, and sports-game rushes.
• Maintain a professional and solution-focused relationship between the kitchen and service teams.

• Ensure kitchen equipment is operated safely and correctly.
• Report refrigeration, cooking equipment, plumbing, electrical, or ventilation problems immediately.
• Maintain cleaning and preventive-maintenance schedules.
• Train employees on the proper use of fryers, grills, ovens, slicers, mixers, and other equipment.
• Help prevent equipment damage caused by misuse or lack of cleaning.

The Kitchen Manager will be evaluated on:

• Food quality and consistency
• Guest satisfaction
• Ticket times
• Food cost and waste
• Kitchen labor cost
• Recipe and portion compliance
• Cleanliness and organization
• Health inspection readiness
• Inventory accuracy
• Employee training, attendance, and retention
• Completion of required checklists and logs
• Communication with management and front-of-house employees

• At least two years of kitchen leadership experience as a Kitchen Manager, Sous Chef, Lead Cook, or similar position.
• Experience in a high-volume restaurant, sports bar, Mexican restaurant, or full-service kitchen preferred.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, preparation, portioning, and kitchen organization.
• Ability to lead a team during busy and stressful service periods.
• Experience with inventory, ordering, scheduling, food-cost control, and labor management.
• Ability to read recipes, invoices, prep lists, schedules, and operating reports.
• Reliable attendance and dependable transportation.
• Availability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, special events, and major sports-game days.
• Current California Food Handler Card required.
• ServSafe Manager Certification preferred or willingness to obtain it.
• Bilingual English and Spanish strongly preferred.

• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods.
• Ability to work around heat, steam, sharp equipment, slippery surfaces, and refrigeration areas.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to bend, reach, squat, and perform repetitive kitchen tasks.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and sometimes loud environment.

The right Kitchen Manager is:

• Hands-on and present during service
• Organized and consistent
• Calm under pressure
• Firm but respectful with employees
• Focused on cleanliness and food safety
• Comfortable holding the team accountable
• Able to control food and labor costs
• Proud of every plate leaving the kitchen
• Interested in growing with El Viejon

• Competitive compensation based on experience
• Employee meal benefits
• Opportunities for advancement
• Performance-based incentives may be available
• Additional benefits: 401k - Health insurance - PTO

Please submit your résumé and a brief description of your kitchen-management experience. Include your availability, current certifications, and experience managing food cost, inventory, scheduling, and high-volume restaurant service.

El Viejon is an equal-opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, performance, availability, and the operational needs of the restaurant.

El Viejon Sports Bar & Cocina – San Diego, CA
Puesto: Tiempo completo
Horario: Disponibilidad para noches, fines de semana, días festivos y eventos deportivos.

Buscamos un Gerente de Cocina responsable, organizado y con liderazgo para supervisar las operaciones diarias de la cocina. Esta persona deberá garantizar la calidad de los alimentos, limpieza, rapidez del servicio, control de inventario y buen desempeño del equipo.

• Supervisar y apoyar al equipo de cocina durante el servicio.
• Asegurar que todos los platillos sigan las recetas, porciones y presentación establecidas.
• Revisar diariamente el sabor, temperatura, frescura y calidad de los alimentos.
• Controlar inventarios, pedidos, desperdicios y costos de comida.
• Preparar horarios y controlar las horas de trabajo del personal.
• Mantener la cocina limpia, organizada y lista para inspecciones de salubridad.
• Supervisar el etiquetado, fechas, almacenamiento y rotación de productos.
• Capacitar, dirigir y evaluar a cocineros, preparadores y lavaplatos.
• Monitorear tiempos de preparación y solucionar problemas durante el servicio.
• Comunicar faltantes, problemas de equipo o necesidades operativas a la gerencia.

• Mínimo 2 años de experiencia como Gerente de Cocina, Sous Chef o Líder de Cocina.
• Experiencia en restaurantes de alto volumen.
• Conocimiento de inventarios, costos, pedidos, horarios y seguridad alimentaria.
• Capacidad para trabajar bajo presión y dirigir un equipo.
• Disponibilidad completa para noches, fines de semana y días festivos.
• Tarjeta vigente de Manipulador de Alimentos de California.
• Certificación ServSafe preferida.
• Bilingüe en español e inglés preferido.

Buscamos una persona que trabaje junto con su equipo, mantenga altos estándares y se asegure de que cada platillo salga correctamente y a tiempo.

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